Workshop Overview

• What is a report?

• Sections of a report

• Report-Writing Tips

• Reports are like recipes; they must contain certain ‘ingredients’ (i.e. elements) for it to ‘taste good’ (i.e. to get a good mark)

• Each section of the report has particular content requirements

• To write a good report, you must only include the information that is required for each section e.g. you don’t discuss your results in the methods section

• A good report must have cohesion & unity - Each section must be related to the other sections

What is a Report?

The Sections of a Report

• Title Page

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Methods

o Participants

o Design

o Materialso Procedure &

Method/s of analysis

• Results

• Discussion

• References

• Appendices

Title Page & Title• The title page is the cover page of the document• The format varies, depending on what your kaiako

requires, but it may include:o The title of the report (essential)o Your name (essential)o Your ID numbero Course nameo Course Coordinatoro Date submittedo Word Count

Abstract• The abstract is the summary of the report• Found in journal articles, abstracts give a

summary of the research you are reading• They are about 200-300 words long• They discuss:

o What topic you were looking at o Topic & aim of studyo What you did (method)o What you found (results)o The implications of your results (from

discussion)

Introduction Section• This part of the report sets the scene for the

research• It starts generally and then narrows down toward

your hypotheses - the questions you are going to address via your research

• It includes a literature review on the subjecto This review touches on the relevant aspects that

help the reader understand, later on, why you chose the design you did, the materials, etc

o Points out the research ‘gap’o It helps us understand how you developed the

research questions and hypotheses

Introduction FormatIntroduction of your research

• A paragraph or so that sets the context of the reportOverview of how the introduction is organised

• The organisation of the literature review • In this paragraph, mention that you will finish with

a discussion of the research aims (hypotheses)Literature review

• Include description of key ideas, key research findings

• Make sure the reader understands the rationale for your methodology and hypotheses

Introduction Format

Research hypotheses• These are your research questions• They are the aims of the research• They are what you want to investigate• Arrange them in order of importance• Use this same order throughout the report

(i.e.)o The Results section ando The Discussion.

MethodsThe methods section is broken into parts:

• Participantso How many?o How were they recruited?o Ethics approval required & granted?

• Design (analysis)o How did you design this experiment

so you could analyse the data?o (e.g.) t-tests, ANOVA factoral design,

qualitative analysis employed.

MethodsThe methods section is broken into parts:• Materials

o This includes test materials, equipment and questionnaires, etc.

• Procedureo How did you actually do this?o You need to describe it so that a person

understands how you did the researcho You need to describe it so that

someone else could replicate the research.

Results• This section outlines what you found• To ensure the report organisation is consistent

throughout you must:o Report the results in the same order that

your hypotheses appeared in the introduction

o Report results using figures or tables only when it will better clarify the results

o Statistical analyses go hereo If you use figures and tables, refer to them

in the results section (e.g.) “Table one shows…”

o Explain your results, but don’t interpret them

o Label tables and figures correctly

Results• Labelling tables (Tables titles are at the

“Top”)Table 2.NFI Patient and NFI Family Record Forms Likert-scale Scores

NFI Patient Record(n = 16)

NFI Family Record (n = 16)

Factor/scale Mean SD Mean SD

Depression 3.19 1.27 3.40 1.10

Somatic 2.68 1.35 2.87 1.30

Memory/Attention 3.13 1.28 3.16 1.19

Communication 3.11 1.30 3.13 1.34

Aggression 2.61 1.29 2.84 1.33

Motor 2.78 1.19 2.73 1.21

Comparison of NFI scores for Patient 1 at July 2002 & October 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Depress Somat Mem/Att Comm Aggress Motor

NFI Scale

Percen

tile

July 2002

October 2003

Results• Labelling figures (Figure titles ‘Fall’ to the

bottom)

Figure 1. Comparison of NFI scores for Patient 1 at July 2002 and October 2003.

Discussion• Discuss your results in the same order that your

hypotheses or aims appeared in the introduction• Discuss:

o What you found – refer back to your hypotheses and whether they were supported

o What the implications are – do your findings agree with the previous research already mentioned in your literature review?

o Whether they generalize beyond your immediate research? Or do they only apply in this case?

o What are the limitations of your study?o What could you suggest for future studies?

References

• This section of the report should be

headed References

• Use APA format

• See APA Referencing Workshop

Appendices• Appendices are used for:

o Raw data tables

o Questionnaires/Tests/Survey forms

o Pamphlets & Brochures

o Any other documents that are necessary material for the reader, yet would break the flow of the report too much if included in the report itself

• Where do they go?

o After the References section, starting on a new page

Report Writing Tips• Use Template (Handout)• Check each section to ensure it contains

relevant information• Check it for consistency (e.g.)

o Hypotheses, Results, Discussion should appear in the same order through the whole report

o Your Discussion should refer back to your literature review when comparing what you found to the findings of the literature

• Spell-check and grammar check your report• Check references for APA style errors• Proof-read it!!

Summary

• A report has specific sections that need

specific inclusions

• Sections were covered in detail and a

template supplied

• Consistency is important

Remember…

If you need more help,

just ask your Kaiako or

Student Support Advisor.

We are here for you!